1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to brain-wave analysis and brain-based control, and, more specifically, to systems designed to perform various functions based upon evoked-response potentials.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is designed to allow a subject to perform various controls and functions through the detection and analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) response to stimuli. Prior art systems that attempt to enable a subject to carry out functions through non-motive means have been employed with a limited amount of success. Among those related to the operation of the present invention, the most successful have been eye-tracking systems that utilize laser beams to determine eye position of a person, to thereby enable the person to control various systems based upon the position of his eyes. Such systems, however, suffer from inaccuracies based primarily upon involuntary muscle activity, of which, for example, disabled persons are often afflicted. The basic theory and technology behind evoked-response potentials (ERPs), including their creation and detection, are well-established and widely discussed in the literature. ERPs are electrical potentials that occur in the human brain in response to an external physical event. By analyzing the ERP, or any or all of its components, data can be derived for analysis. Control techniques employing ERP technology are theoretically more accurate and predictable than the above-mentioned eye-tracking systems, and therefore promise more precise applications since the data is obtained directly from brain functions and mental processes rather than from gross muscular movements.
One system directed towards function control based upon EEG responses to stimuli is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,145 to Sutter, and in various publications by the same inventor but utilizes different algorithms for data presentation and analysis than does the present invention.